An Irish Setter running freely?

[louise]

Sorry about the clumsy title.

I'm aware a Setter must be allowed to "stretch their legs" but how important is this in a 9 month old with very little recall?

I've taken him regularly ( usually 5-6 days a week for about 2 hours at a time ) to a dog park where he often sets up a insistant high pitched yipping and pretty much gets in other dogs' faces.

I've tried calling and distracting him with little success and I understand this is annoying for the other dogs and their owners.

There is a 2 yr old retriever - they often bowl each other over or tear after each other around the park but the other owners would like both to settle down. 

I'm reinforcing the basic commands throughout the day, I've found after about 15-20 minutes on the short leash he starts to resist me pulling back so I call it quits, is that about right?

 

With thanks for any info/thoughts  

[Carmel Murphy]

Still bring him for socialising but perhaps with a long training lead? Perhaps also look for a group of doggie friends who could get together in a smaller well fenced play area or garden? So he can still run, play and socialise but with more control;o)